Vehicle roller-jack.



A. C. HOPKINS.

VEHICLE ROLLER JACK.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. II. 1918;

m amuavlto'z Patented 001;. 1, 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

A. C. HOPKINS.

V E-HICLE ROLLER JACK.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. II. I918- 1,,%U,4&. Patented 00t.1,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- @wuemtoz ARTHUR C. HOPKINS.

To all whom it may concern:

THUR C. HQPKINS, OF MINNEAPOLTS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR T MID-WEST MANU- FACNG CQMPANY, OF SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA, A CORPORATION.

. VEHICLE ROLLER-JACK,

mate.

Be it known that I, ARTHUR C. HOPKINS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle Roller-Jacks, of which the following is a specification,

This invention relates to a vehicle roller jack of the class used more particularly for elevating automobiles or their axles Or other parts from the floor, and has for one of its objects to provide such a construction that less power than ordinary will be required for operation. The invention also includes certain features relating to convenience in use, all as fully described hereinafter and claimed, and as illustrated in the -accompanying drawing, wherein,

igure 1 is a broken away view in longitudinal section of the roller jack, the handlever being lowered to cause'elevation of the standard. Fig. 2 is a similar view to that shown in Fig. 1, the hand-lever being elevated. Fig. 3 is a broken away plan view 7 of the roller jack. Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 44 of Fig. 5. Fig. 5' is a detail showing an end portion of the hand-lever for a mounting of the handles and a resilient mounting for the pawl-rod. Fig. 6 is a side view of the inner end of the hand-lever to show relative position of the pawl-rods, the treadle, the toothed sector, the tongue and one. of the actuating-bars.

Referring now to the drawing, the vehicle roller jack includes a frame or casting consisting of a cylindrical part 7 provided midway between its ends with a, standard 8, and provided with a pair of arms 9 which project below the standard, a pair of wheels 10 being provided and having suitable hearings in the cylindrical part 7 and being of such diameter that when the standard has swinging movements, the downwardly projecting arms will not engage the floor.

Numeral 11 indicates a rack-bar slidably engaging the standard, and a pawl 12 is mounted on the standard, its spring 13 normally maintaining it in engagement with the rack-bar. V

Numeral 14 indicates a tongue which proj ects outwardly from the standard. It preferably consists of a pair of attenuated, parallel strips suitably connected, side by side,

Specification of Letters Batent.

Application filed March 11, 1918. Serial No. 221,678.

as shown in Fig. 3. It is provided with a roller-member or pair of casters 15 for constant engagement with the floor, its inner end being pivotally connected with the upper part of the rack-bar, as indicated at 16, inwardly of the projecting part 00 of said tongue.

The tongue is also provided with a sector 17 having a plurality of teeth a, a tooth b and an intermediate smooth, convexed part a, the teeth a being reversely inclined to the tooth b.

Numeral 18 indicates a pull-rod pivotally connected with the pawl 12 at one of its ends, its opposite end being connected with a treadle 19 which is mounted upon the side of the tongue; and since the treadle projects beyond the end of the tongue it may be readily depressed to cause disengagement of the pawl 12 from the rack-bar, to permit the latter to slide downwardly when required, this being a feature of great advantage and convenience in operation, and resulting in'a saving of considerable time, during use.

Numerals 20 indicate a pair of actuatingbars disposed at the sides of the tongue, their inner ends being pivotally connected with the arms 9 of the cylindrical part 7.

A hand-lever 21 is provided, preferably consisting of a pair of attenuated, connected strips d, their lower ends being pivotally mounted at 22 upon the tongue 14, said strips d also being mounted between their ends, as indicated at 23 upon the outer ends of the actuating-bars 20, and thereby providing apivotal mounting for a second pawl 24, for engaging the sector 17.

In order that the pawl-rod 25 may be under convenient control for releasing the pawl 24 from the sector, and that means may be provided for maintaining the handlever in a vertical position ready for use, certain devices are provided, consisting, in part, of a metallic head-member 26 best shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the parallel, outwardly projecting handles 27 preferably bea spiral spring 31 which is seated in the recess.

On account of the construction described, an operator may readily depress the cap 30 against the force of the spring for causing a release of the pawl 24 from the sector, this being a matter of convenience in the use of the lever.

It will be noted that the pawl 24 is provided with detents or projections e and '0', these being disposed opposite to each other, and an operator, after pressing the cap 30 inwardly to cause a release of the detent e from the tooth b may then swing the handlever for engagement of the detent 6 with one of the teeth a, the pawl sliding on the convexed surface 0, said detent c, after engaging a tooth on, operating to maintain the swivel 32 in an elevated position after the load has been elevated, said swivel being removably mounted in an aperture formed in that part :0 of the tongue which projects beyond the rack-bar, the function discharged by the elements b and 6, being to maintain the hand-lever in a vertical position until an,

operator presses the cap inwardly of the .recess 28.

On account of the provision of the projecting nart a the center of gravity for the load will be disposed outwardly of the pivotal mounting 16 of the tongue with the rack-bar during a part of the swinging movement of the standard, and therefore a lesser power will be required for moving the hand lever than otherwise, the load operating as a counterbalance, and this feature is a material advantage for lifting exceptionally.

heavy loads.

Also the use of arms 9 is a material advantage in connection with the actuatingbars as an aid in lifting heavy vehicles, since these arms project below the standard and the leverage is greater than ordinary, the fulcrum for this leverage being in line with the axles of the wheels 10, the tongue 14 moving in a direction reverse to the movement of the bars 20 when elevating or lowering a load.

Having fully described my invention,

what I, claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. In a vehicle roller jack, an axle provided with wheels, a standard on. the axle and provided with crank-arms, a rack-bar on the standard, an outwardly projecting tongue carried by the rack-bar, actuating-bars carried by the crank-arms, said tongue. being provided with a roller for engaging the floor and having a sector with teeth disposed at reverse inclinations, a hand-lever having a head provided with a recess opening on its top, a resiliently mounted cap in said recess to normally project above the head of said hand-lever, said hand-lever having pivotal connections with the outer ends of the tongue and actuating bars for moving them longitudinally to cause a swinging movement of the standard,

a pawl provided with a pair of oppositely disposed pro ections and mounted on the hand-lever normally engaging a tooth of one inclination of the sector,- and a' push-rod connected with the resiliently mounted cap of the hand-lever, said rod being movable to permit a release of the pawl from said tooth for engagement of said pawl with a tooth of reverse inclination of the sector.

2. In a vehicle roller jack, a' standard provided adjacent to its lower end with wheels and having a pair of arms projecting below its lower end, a racl -bar carried by the standard, a-tongue projecting.rearwardly of the standard and pivotally mounted on the rack-bar and having a part projecting forwardly of its pivotal mounting, a swivel on the forwardly projecting part of said tongue,

a pair of actuating-bars outwardly of the sides of the tongue and pivotally engaging the arms of the standard, and means for moving the tongue andv actuating-bars 1ongitudinally for causing an upward swinging movement of the rack-bar.

In testimony whereof, I have aflixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR HOPKINS. Witnesses HIRAM A. STURoEs, ARTHUR H. STURoEs. 

